An EBMA fax says that bike sales in Germany, the European Union’s largest bike market, grew 12 percent in 2000 but that consumption in the UK dropped by 140 000 units to 2.19m.

The EU grew by 3.8 percent overall.

"Happily growth continues at a rate above European inflation but nothing to make champagne corks pop in our boardrooms. Production growth of domestic companies is a little slower while imports continue to increase market share. The first quarter results are hard to predict, from gloom in the UK to elation in Spain. And it also is difficult to forecast the effect of the probable slight recession in the United States and its reflection into Europe," said Montgomery.

Domestic EU production was up by two percent to 12.274 million units. Imports – the bane of Montgomery’s life – were up 6 percent to 5.613 million units.

A full listing of EBMA’s statistics will soon appear in the ‘cycling statistics’ part of this website and will also appear in the printed BikeBizBible which will appear before the Harrogate trade show.